What’s New? Welcome to the April 2013 RCLAS Newsletter, Wordplay at Work Editor: Janet Kvammen ISSN 2291-4269
Welcome on board! We would like to announce our new Secretary:
Deborah L. Kelly Candice James has been filling the position of both Treasurer and Secretary. This is our RCLAS board as it now stands -
President Gavin Hainsworth Vice President Manolis Aligizakis Treasurer Candice James Secretary Deborah L. Kelly Director at Large Ken Ader Director at Large Janet Kvammen Director at Large Renee Saklikar
Poetic Justice Sunday April 7, 2013 Don’t Miss It!
ANNOUNCING WRITE ON! CONTEST WINNERS Featuring the First Place Winners@ LitFest New West Showcase Curtain: 7:00pm, Saturday April 13, 2013 RCLAS Features During Act 2 Laura Muir Theater @Douglas College, 700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster
$100 first prize $50 second prize and $25 third prize Poetry Judge Eileen Kernaghan POETRY WINNERS Poetry First Place (Muir Theatre Showcase): Jonina Lynn Kirton - Dream Kitchen Poetry Second Place: Jude Neale - After Birth Poetry Third Place: Clarissa Packard Green – Photo Album
Non Fiction Judge Dennis E. Bolen NON FICTION WINNERS Non-Fiction First Place (Muir Theatre Showcase): Corey Levine – My Pet Junkie Non-Fiction Second Place: Theresa Henry Smith – The Looters Non-Fiction Third Place: Margo Prentice – The Green Dress
Fiction Judge George Opacic FICTION WINNERS Fiction First Place (Muir Theatre Showcase): Antonia Levi – Uptown Strays Fiction Second Place: Kelly Dycavinu – Inanna’s Song Fiction Third Place: Jude Neale – Georgia On My Mind
ANNOUNCING WRITE ON! CONTEST Honorable Mentions Poetry Judge Eileen Kernaghan POETRY Honorable Mentions Alan Hill - Sanity Uber Alles Donna Allard - War Musket Grass Lilija Valis - Blue Ride West Lilija Valis - Escape To Eden Jonina Lynn Kirton - Lake Manitou Jonina Lynn Kirton - Every Plant Has a Song
Non Fiction Judge Dennis E. Bolen NON FICTION Honorable Mentions David Delaney - Duffle Bag of Poetry Lorraine Kiidumae - A Beautiful Child Gail Norcross - Musings On Aging Patti Wilder - My Life With Orcas Carol Tulpar - Humpies In The Skeena Susan Seneshen - Figaro's Marriage
Fiction Judge George Opacic FICTION Honorable Mentions Ben Nuttall-Smith - Fish and Chips Margo Prentice - Ali And The Sand Lorraine Kiidumae – Little Mountain Lorraine Kiidumae - Lost In Venice Donna Terrill - The Universe Strikes Back Maggie Rayner - The Age Thief
The RCLAS Board would like to express a BIG Thank you to our esteemed panel of judges Dennis E. Bolen, Eileen Kernaghan, and George Opacic for their time and efforts on behalf of the Royal City Literary Arts Sociey. Non Fiction Dennis E. Bolen http://dennisbolen.com/ Fiction George Opacic www.bcwriters.ca (President of Fed of BC Writers) Poetry Eileen Kernaghan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eileen_Kernaghan
Remarkable Royal City Women Friday, April 12 @ 6:30 pm New Westminster Public Library
There have been some remarkable women in New Westminster’s history. The book, Grace, Grit and Gusto, profiles 40 “remarkable Royal City women” past and present. The book is written by 26 New West residents as a fund raiser for Monarch Place transition house. At the launch of LitFest New West 2013, come and meet some of the remarkable women of New Westminster who contributed to and were featured in the new book, Grace Grit and Gusto. They will talk about the new book and how it came to be written, and about some of the women who were chosen to be featured. There will be a reception afterwards.
LitFest New West Showcase Schedule Curtain: 7:00pm, Saturday April 13, Douglas College Laura Muir Theater, New Westminster Running Time: 2 hour and 15 minutes, with 15 minute intermission* Act I
Candice James – Poet Laureate Don Hauka – Author Michael Hetherington – Author Sylvia Taylor – Author Bob Robertson & Linda Cullen – Author
Intermission Act II
Douglas College / Kwantlen University Percussion Ensemble
Royal City Literary Arts Society featuring First Place Write On! Contest Winners
Renee Saklikar – Poet and John Oliver – Composer Shadows & Dreams Theatre Company JJ Lee – Author C R Avery – Music & Spoken Word
LitFest Author in Residence
Lit Fest Author in Residence, New Westminster’s own Renée Sarojini Saklikar. Renée Sarojini Saklikar writes thecanadaproject, about life from India to Canada’s West Coast, and places in between. Her work produced from thecanadaproject appears in many newspapers, literary journals and anthologies. Poems and fiction from thecanadaproject have been short-listed for national awards. Last year she was the inaugural poetry mentor for teachers and students at the new South Bank Creative Writing Programme through SFU in Surrey. Saklikar is a member of the False Creek Writers Guild, the Federation of BC Writers and Event magazine’s advisory board as well as a Royal City Literary Arts Council board member. Renée is currently working on her first book of poems. She is an engaging reader/writer who is known for her energetic and inspiring style.
March 23, 2013, I was happy to attend the Writers International Network Canada’s Best 2013 - 2nd Annual Literary Festival - Dr Asha Bhargava Memorial Awards. The successful event created by W.I.N. President/Founder, Ashok Bhargava was held at the Richmond Cultural Center. Thank you to the lovely RCLAS members, Lilija Valis and Bernice Lever as well as Charlene Sayo for hosting such a wonderful event. Congratulations to all of the Award Recipients! RCLAS is particularly proud to announce that a few of our members were presented with Distinguished Poet and Writer Awards including RCLAS board member, Candice James. Also among the award nominees were RCLAS members, Dennis E. Bolen and Valerie B-Taylor. Congratulations! Other RCLAS members were also featured poets at the event including Deborah Kelly, Alan Hill and myself. Thank you to Ashok Bhargava for his hard work and dedicated effort in creating a festival that brings together writers, artists, and dancers in recognition, appreciation and community of the literary arts. Together we shall continue to inspire by touching the minds and hearts of writers and artists. by Janet Kvammen Facebook Photo Album https://www.facebook.com/pages/PlanetJanetCreations/210914705597127?fref=ts Youtube Playlist http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL97yrIHWs_bSeJbvYEU6b4sEBYEmxLGlx&featur e=view_all
WIN 2013 Award Recipients & Dr. Asha Bhargava Memorial Award Winners Bonnie Nish, People’s Laureate Award Dennis E. Bolen, Distinguished Writer Award Theresa Chevalier, Distinguished Writer Award Srinath Dwivedi, Distinguished Poet Award Lucia Gorea, Distinguished Poet Award Candice James, Distinguished Poet Award Surjeet Kalsey, Distinguished Poet Award Valerie B-Taylor, Distinguished Writer/Poet Award & Dr. Asha Bhargava Memorial Award Babette Santos, Emerging Artist Award Ellen Taleon, Emerging Poet Award Duke Ashrafuzzaman, Goodwill Ambassador/Community Builder Award Jai Birdi, Goodwill Ambassador/Community Builder Award Kuldip Jhand, Goodwill Ambassador/Community Builder Award Mankajee Shreshtha, Goodwill Ambassador/Community Builder Award Dr. Rita Malhotra (New Delhi, India), International Award Winner Lila Shahani (Manila, Philippines), International Award Winner Bernice Lever, MC and Host Award Charlene Sayo, MC and Host Award Lilija Valis, MC and Host Award More information - http://writersinternationalnetwork.wordpress.com/awards/#WINNERS2013 News link by Ashok Bhargava http://newseastwest.com/win-canada-honours-best-writers-poets-and-artists/
THE 7 DEADLY SINS OF SELF-EDITING by Janice Gable Bashman & Kathryn Craft We’re most likely to sin when we’re at our most vulnerable—and for creative writers, there may be no more vulnerable time than the delicate (and often excruciating) process of editing our own work. Sidestep these too-common traps, and keep your story’s soul pure. 1. Greed - Many authors damn their efforts from the start with a premature focus on snagging a lucrative book deal. They submit to agents or self-publish before their work is truly ready. But building a career requires that you lay a strong foundation of only your best work—and nobody’s first draft is the best it can be. Careful editing is the mortar that holds the story bricks together. Penance: Resist the temptation to convince yourself your first draft is “good enough.” If you find yourself rushing your editing process just to leap ahead to pursuing publication, look for deeper motivation to sustain you. Remember that the revision process doesn’t have to be any less enjoyable than the writing itself: You’ll be setting out to find the magic in each word, sentence, paragraph. You’ll be tapping your creative soul for ways to add tension to every page, to find clever solutions to tough story problems. Greed looks toward the uncertain rewards of tomorrow. The joys of writing are available to you today. 2. Lust - Just as dangerous as the temptation to call your first draft “finished” can be the tendency to jump into a revision right away. Words and ideas flood your mind; emotions pump through your heart. But that mad creative rush can become excessive, harming your ability to clearly assess your writing. Penance: Step away from your current project as long as you can bear it—then wait an additional week. You’ll need that emotional distance before you revisit your work. 3. Gluttony - A great novel is like a gourmet meal. It must be prepared carefully, and to specification, with complementary flavors and courses. Getting carried away and stuffing in all the good ideas and beautiful word pairings you’ve got in your pantry can lead to overindulgence. Penance: Put your manuscript on a diet. Pare down or eliminate scenes that don’t further the story. Examine plot points, characters, description, dialogue and exposition, until you have precisely what you need to tell your story, and not a character or subplot more. Then apply this same philosophy to your work at the sentence level, killing your darlings and eliminating excessive adjectives and adverbs, along with verbose descriptions. Bring out the flavor of both your story and your style, but stop short of over-seasoning. 4. Pride - Even in the current age of publishing, where aspiring authors can and must act as their own publicists and webmasters and take on myriad other roles, editing is one thing you can’t complete alone. As a form of communication, writing needs an
audience. Thinking you don’t need feedback from others isn’t just pride—it’s pride that can squelch your potential. Penance: Seek the help of beta readers, critique groups and editors. In return for the valuable feedback you receive, share your growing skills by critiquing the works of other participants in return. Then take your humble approach a step further and volunteer at writing conferences, libraries or literacy programs. Start a neighborhood book club, a regional networking group or email list for writers. Read widely and blog about it. The more you support the literary community, the more likely it will support you. 5. Sloth - The lazy scribe is one who’s failed to develop and utilize all her natural talents. To draft a story—and then stop there—is to ignore the very nature of literature, which constructs meaning through the deft layering of craft elements. If you find yourself bucking that notion, you may be guilty of sloth. Penance: Just like with physical exercise, whipping your talent into shape takes time and dedication. You don’t jog once a year and end up with a perfect body. So it goes with your manuscript. To build the endurance skills you’ll need for marathon writing and revision, you must continuously train: Do writing prompts. Do writing exercises. Keep your writing muscles toned through daily practice, and when you review your previous work, your mistakes and weak sections will become more apparent, you’ll be more capable of dealing with them, and you’ll be far less likely to walk away. 6. Envy - Creative people are notoriously insecure. You may covet one published author’s self-confident voice, or another’s way with words. Maybe it’s his humor, or her emotional honesty. If you fear your work pales in comparison, remember that those authors didn’t strike it big by mimicking others or wallowing in jealousy. Penance: With a friend or writing group, analyze your draft for what is uniquely you. Is it your voice? Your descriptions? Your quirky observations about the world around you? Edit your manuscript again, with an eye for drawing that element out on every page. Editors and agents don’t want another x, y or z. They want what you have that nobody else does. So don’t hold yourself to an impossible standard by trying to be one of your peers. 7. Wrath - The editing process can inspire uncontrolled feelings of rage in a writer. It’s difficult to discover or to hear from a trusted reader that you might not yet have fully developed your work—but it’s also an important step in growing your organic talent. Penance: Wrath will only get in the way. Ignore feedback at your own peril: What angers us most holds a nugget of truth. Find it. Listen for the gifts within the criticism offered, and use them to help inspire new ideas. Your manuscript can only improve as a result.
World Poetry Canada International Peace Festival! April 4-30, 2013. 301, Lillooet room at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. University of British Columbia, 1961 East Mall Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca
Please register at www.worldpoetry.ca and bring or post a poem on peace, a story about peace, a song, or a dance! Space is limited for all events, so please register early! All free! Hosts: Yilin Wang, Ariadne Sawyer and Directors. Register on line, volunteer, enjoy! Come to one event or all three! For those who cannot be there in person, please send good thoughts for peace! April 4 - Thursday, Grand Opening at the Victoria Learning Theatre (Room 182), 7-9 pm First Nation welcome by Godwin Barton. Official World Poetry Peace E-Anthology launches at UBC and on the internet! Post your peace poem, video link, or a few words at: Read your poem and a poem of a poet that cannot attend. Dance to the delightful music by Rio Samaya Band (Pancho and Sal) and enjoy the beautiful Jasmine dancers. Watch the World Poetry Exclusive Short Afghan Film: “Silence” by Afghan Youth Poet Sharif Saedi. (Poster available) Light refreshments. April 11 - Thursday, 7-9 pm, 301, Lillooet room at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre Cross country tour: Penn Kemp: Jack Layton, Art in Action. Poetry readings: Trevor Carolan, Ruth Hill and others plus international guests. Bring your stories about Jack Layton, poems and thoughts. We acknowledge the support of the League of Canadian Poets, the Guild of Canadian Playwrights and the Canada Council for the Arts. April 20 - Saturday, 1-4 pm First Nations Wanda John-Kehewin “In the Dog House”, published by Talon Books. Navaho flute music by Angelo Moroni. Poetry readings by Bernice Lever and others. Music/ poetry presentation by Japanese composer Yoshifumi Sakura, Afghan film: the Broken Destiny of Poetry by Rahmat Haidari and Sajia Hussain (documentary on a young Afghan woman poet and her struggles to survive and write) trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0FPPddB6UY Join the World Poetry Peace Poetathon official launch as it flows around the world bringing a focus on peace with supportive peace connector partners. Displays: April 4-30th. Peace Posters by Sattar Saberi, Doc PenPen, Jaypee Belarmino and poets, M&M, Mirwais Janbaz ,World Poetry and partners. Awards to international guests and local empowered poets. Our wonderful partners in kind: Exclusive Media Sponsor CTV, Cinevolution, Ricepaper, Vancouver Tagore Society, Signature Partner: VAHMS, explore ASIAN, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC, www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca/ The Jasmine Dance Club, Asian Canadian Writer’s Workshop, TAN, the Afro News and the City of Richmond. www.worldpoetry.ca ariadnes@uniserve.com yilinw@gmail.com allan.cho@ubc.ca
LITERARY EVENT – Richmond City Hall, Council Chambers Date; May 4, 2013 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM “The Poetry of George Seferis, Nobel Laureate” Please join Greek/Canadian Poet Manolis and Poet Laureate Candice James as they read Translations by Manolis of Greek Poet George Seferis (1900 -1971). Manolis will read from “George Seferis, Collected Poems” translated by Manolis in Greek and Candice will read the English translation. George Seferis was one of the most important Greek poets of the 20th century, and a Nobel Laureate. He was also a career diplomat in the Greek Foreign Service, culminating in his appointment as Ambassador to the UK, a post which he held from 1957 to 1962. In 1963, Seferis was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature "for his eminent lyrical writing, inspired by a deep feeling for the Hellenic world of culture." His wide travels provide the backdrop and colour for much of Seferis's writing, which is filled with the themes of alienation, wandering, and death.
http://www.libroslibertad.ca/book.php?id=52
POETIC JUSTICE Schedule April 2013 {Poetic Justice is under the umbrella of RCLAS, our sister group}
Location: Heritage Grill Backroom 447 Columbia St New Westminster near Columbia skytrain station Contact Person: Franci Louann Email: flouann@telus.net Website: www.poeticjustice.ca
POETIC JUSTICE
Featuring Special BOOK LAUNCH—Jack Layton: Art in Action featuring Penn Kemp/ Heidi Greco/ Franci Louann/ Susan McCaslin with Host, Mickey Bickerstaff Sunday, April 7, 2013 3-5 pm (15:00-17:00) POETIC JUSTICE
Featuring Jordan Abel/ Eileen Clyde/ Janet Vickers with host, Alan Hill Sunday, April 14, 2013 3-5 pm (15:00-17:00) POETIC JUSTICE
Featuring MEHAROONA GHANI/ BERNICE LEVER/ JUDE NEALE with host, Deborah Kelly (to be determined) Sunday April 21, 2013 3-5 pm (15:00-17:00) POETIC JUSTICE
Featuring Alan Hill/ Marni Norwich/ Timothy Shay with host, Lilija Valis Sunday, April 28, 2013 3-5 pm (15:00-17:00) Come join us! We have Open Mic every PJ ;)
April 20 13
Wordplay at work
ISSN 2291-4269
Membership Application - Annual fee $28 including tax Pay by Paypal on our website www.rclas.com or send cheque or money order to:
RCLAS – Royal City Literary Arts Society Box #5 - 720 – Sixth Street, New Westminster, BC V3L 3C5 For further information: Phone – 778-714-1772 Email – secretary@rclas.com